Tuesday, June 21, 2011

1Pet, noPet, 3Pet ,2Pet

At one of our favorite places to go....
 
The Compton Gardens is a great place to go with the family and just walk around, look at flowers and trees, and squash bugs :)  That's our kiddos favorite part.  They play the find the bug and squash it game every time we go there!  And they love all the rocks to climb.  I'm so happy our kiddos are so easily amused and just love to be out in God's creation.  We love being out there. 

This is Gabriel break dancing.  We were listening to some Britt Nicole and Gabriel loves her upbeat music!  Usually he just jumps around, but this time he decided to really break it down....
This last week we went from 1 animal, to 0 animals, to 3 animals, back to 2 animals all withing 3 days....
So, this past Thursday our one of our fence gates got opened while Jacque was outside.  There were several in our neighborhood that got opened and several dogs that got out so we are thinking it was just a kid thinking it would be a fun to open people's gates.  So Jacque was gone.  We couldn't find him that night at all.  But that evening we had this turtle that was in our driveway on it's way to the street, so I grabbed it and put it in our backyard....
 It was a cute turtle and the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever.  The plan was to keep it in the backyard, then after the kiddos went to bed to take it outside the fence and let it go after the trafic slowed down.  But when I went out, it was gone.  Then come the next morning I looked out our bedroom window and there was mr. turtle coming back into the yard!  It made itself a couple little homes under our slide for the day.  We put a bit of food out for it and watered the turtle down a bit to cool him off.  He stayed with us a couple days, then on Saturday afternoon moved on to another home.

Back to Jacque....On Friday afternoon Animal Control called me back and said they think they found our dog!  Thankfully a friend of ours was able to help us out and go pick him up....
 Poor little Jacque in doggy jail.  We were so happy to get him home!   As soon as he got here I gave him a bath and got him all nice and clean.  He didn't even budge while I was drying and brushing his hair.  I think he was happy to be clean!  And he definitely missed his toys and his bed and all of us.  It reminded me of one of our kids favorite books "Harry the Dirty Dog".  lol

And last but not least, the new kitten "Belle"

 The kids are loving the cat.  It's a bit hard to keep them from wanting to play with her 24/7 lol!  And I'm honestly more worried about it hurting them than them hurting it just b/c of it's amazingly sharp claws, SO.....

Miss.Belle and I went for a ride Monday morning to get her nails clipped.  In 3 weeks or so we will be able to get her de-clawed.  And that will be SO nice!  She has the loudest "meow" ever.  She kept us up the other night more than a newborn baby.  She did much better last night though.  She just needs lots of attention and cuddles or she is not happy kitty :)

Having fun playing outside!  Kiddos hadn't been out in the pool in almost a week so they were so happy to get out and play, and then they decided they wanted me to take their pics....

 Look at this beefcake!  he's like a mini Rocky Balboa!

Playing in the grass coloring their legs and feet :)
Like I said earlier. Easily amused :P  Love it!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

teaching stewardhip to your children

So how do you teach your children how to be good stewards of themselves, their toys, clothes, their room, their relationships....etc?

Well, you start by being a good steward yourself.  WOW, right?!  Profound.  Not rocket science, right?  "You can't give away what you don't have"....If we aren't being a good steward of our body, our house, our relationship with our spouse or our friends and family, our finances....etc, how can we expect them to know how.  People, especially kids, learn by example. 

We have always taught our children to pick up their toys, take their dishes to the sink, pick up their mess when they make one, flush the toilet and put the lid down, wash hands, share, say please and thank you and excuse me...and use manners in general....etc.  And all of this has been learned through us doing it and working with them on it. 

Is our house in perfect condition 100% of the time?  nope.  Are our children perfect? nope.  Are we perfect parents?  far from it.

But being a good steward isn't about being perfect.  And it's not about chores.  And it's not even about a whole list of rules. 

It IS about honoring God.  Stewardship is a form of worship.  When we are good stewards of what we have, God blesses us. 

And we have to teach this to our children. 

Teaching to clean (stewardship of home and belongings)

To be quite honest, they ask to do more that what we have asked.  Lot's more.  They have been emptying the dishwasher out since they could walk, they will just go grab a wipe or towel and start wiping the windows or tables or toys down, feed the dog, try to fold laundry, set the table.  And non of those things are things that we have made them do as "chores".  It's just part of life in our house.  It's just what we do.  To learn more on how to have children who love to clean and take care of their home, check out this post I wrote a while back.  the pictures are no longer on it as I had to clean out my pics to upload more, but the story and tips are still there!
She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat.- Proverbs 31:27

Teaching to give (stewardship of our heart)
  • When I am handing out snacks that they each want, i will give it to one child to give to another.
    • example:  I will give Trinity a cup of snacks to give to Asher, then I will give Gabriel a cup to give to Trinity.... 
In doing this it teaches them to give to others and I believe draws them away from selfishness.  Because it's hard to be selfish when we are constantly giving.  It also teaches that they too will be blessed when they share and give.  Simple, yet effective.  When you and your family are getting ready to eat at the table, if you don't already, make your spouses plate first and serve him.  Then your children, then yourself.  In that order.  It's amazing what they will learn just from you showing selflessness in small acts. 

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. - Proverbs 11:25
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. - 2 Corinthians 9:6

Teaching to be thankful (stewardship of our relationships, finances, and stuff)

Be thankful.  Get excited about the "little things"!  Use what you have wisely.  Treat people with respect and love.  Don't talk bad about people.  Kids learn to show love, respect, generosity from YOU.  So if you are negative and talk trash, disrespect your friends and you home and your things....your children will too.
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Romans 12:10
Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it's a stupid way to live. - Proverbs 11:29
Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. - Ephesians 4:32
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.  - Ephesians 4:29 

Being a good steward of your children.
Just like the tittle of that book says "Your kids are your own fault".

Are we going to put blame on our children?  .....OR we as parents just need to step up and take responsibility of our children.  They have only been on this earth for a couple years...if that.  We've been on this earth close to 30....give or take a few years for you....and we still don't have it all figured out.  We can't go day to day....hour to hour without our Heavenly Father's help, direction, correction, love, discipline, forgiveness, mercy....so how can our children go without ours. 

Discipline your children while you still have the chance; indulging them destroys them. Proverbs 19:18
Do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.- Ephesians 6:4
Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.- Proverbs 29:17
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. - Proverbs 22:6
Do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged. - Colossians 3:21

So train them up by first being.  Teach them to be a good steward by being one yourself and by being one to them.  For some or most of us that means allowing the Holy Spirit to first teach us. Because like we mentioned above..."we cannot give what we do not have."

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  - Ephesians 5:1

Monday, June 13, 2011

Photo's & WORD

 Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad. - Prov 29:17
 
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. - Romans 12:10

 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. - 2 Cor 6:6

 Discipline your children while you still have the chance; indulging them destroys them. - Prov 19:18


 Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.- Prov 22:6
 Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. - Psalm 127:3




 Children are such a gift.  God has blessed us something crazy with these three awesome kiddos.  Definitely more amazing than we deserve.  But isn't that what God does?  He loves to wow us!  And I am continually wow'd each and every day.  I love being a Mommy.  It's my fave.
 To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity. Psalm 18:25
 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."Gen. 12:3
 Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.- Prov 20:11
 A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them.- Prov 13:24


 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.- 3 John 1:4
 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”- Matthew 19:14

  Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. - Psalm 42:7

My cup runeth over.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The start of Summer!

So summer doesn't officially start for a couple weeks, but it has been insanely hot....just like summer time!  And we have been loving it!  The kiddos spent a couple days playing in the sprinkler, then yesterday I went and got them a little pool to enjoy some fun!








And just an FYI, if ur looking for an inexpensive kiddie pool, check out Family Dollar.  This silver one isn't exactly stylin', but it was only $10.  they also have little 3 ring pools for $5.  We just got a Family Dollar in Centerton about a month or so ago.  We are LOVing it!  They have some great deals in there.